Eyes of Imperfection
by BlazingWrath21
Summary: After Ray and Zack escape, the story shifts to a grieving man named Cronan, a former victim of a similar killing game done to him years ago, as the loss of his daughter overwhelms him. As events transpire, we learn his undone promises, pyrrhic victories and inability to bury his past as those events catch up to him.
1. The Scars Remain Raw

**A/N: This is my first time writing a story for the Angels of Death verse, let alone my first new fanfiction. I apologize for the rather off tone at times in the chapter.**

 **Hope this is worth your time.**

 **Disclaimer: If you haven't played the original game, read the manga, or watch the anime ahead of time, I recommend you do so to avoid spoilers.**

* * *

 _ **Chapter 1: The Scars Remain Raw**_

Late autumn struck the suburbs amidst the slow traffic. Encompassed within the bath of their own putrid fumes, the cars snaked up hill; a traffic light sat in the middle of it, further slowing down the already stagnant motion on the highway as the people made their way back home from their dreary and mundane routine. In the midst of this stood a town diner within a plaza.

It was relatively crowded most of the day with the staff and customers doing nothing beyond the norm; some people leaving as quick as they arrived. A lone table stood out at which two men sat amongst all the chaos both in and out of the other ones.

The television played in the background, it was the news channel.

The man controlling the black chess pieces moved his knight out of the way, focusing on moving around enemy vanguard.

The news played on the television as the man rubbed his eye, revealing a red iris.

 _"In other news, authorities continue to investigate possible involvement of an unidentified cult in a building fire that happened a couple weeks back. Reports indicate that around 2:26 am, Tuesday, October the 15th, witnesses reported that the building mysteriously went ablaze accompanied with the discovery of an injured girl and suspicious-looking man emerging from it; to which the police and the fire brigade promptly responded."_

"That's checkmate.", said the other man, catching the first man's opening on his last move. His emerald green eyes glimmered upon realizing his triumph. He scratched his brown hair habitually as he swiftly grabbed the black king off the board and gently placed it on the side, "I win again, bro."

His opponent simply stared at the board emptily; his attention drifted towards the television even though he wasn't watching the monitor. The other man's words fell on deaf ears.

 _"The girl was identified as 'Rachel Gardner', a 13-year-old who had previously vanished during questioning about the Gardner homicide case; she was taken to the hospital and later placed into protective custody. Interestingly, the man accompanying her was identified to be 20-year-old serial killer 'Isaac Foster', who was subsequently arrested and taken into police custody under charges for kidnapping the girl, as well as the slew of murders the police believe he was involved in over the years. To our surprise, he didn't deny the allegations of the murders, claiming them to be partly true, but he denied having kidnapped the girl."_

 _"So they finally caught that crazy serial killer."_ , the man thought, loosening his tie up a little bit, _"What a relief. The bastard."_

 _"Recent investigations into the remnants of the building have found the charred corpse of a man whom authorities are unable to identify. On top of that, evidence suggests that the building's fire was the result of an explosion on the lowest floor, causing it to collapse. Despite hampering progress, police have come to believe that Abraham Gray, a former reverend who had been missing since allegations involving his involvement with the aforementioned unidentified cult as well as the building's owner, may not only responsible for its collapse but the suspicious activities that took place inside as well. It is advisable by the police to be on the lookout for this man or anyone that can potentially be associated with him."_

 _"Yeah, that body can't be Gray's.",_ he thought to himself, _"He's a coward. An ironic one at that. Just keep running you defrocked priest, I'll soon judge you myself."_

The man suddenly heard his name being called, snapping him back to reality.

"Cronan!"

Hearing that, he shook his head, lightly biting his lip as he stared back at the television for a split-second more before turning towards the direction his voice was being called in. He responded somewhat nervously "Oh, sorry about that Jericho. I must've zoned out again. Another then?" He rolled up the sleeves of his dark green button-down shirt.

"Sure, why not?", Jericho responded, radiating a smile as he collected his fallen pieces from the previous game. He was quick to assemble the board back to how it was at the beginning of every chess game, waiting for Cronan to do the same.

The man let out a yawn, letting his head rest on the table as he slowly and lethargically assembled his black pieces onto the board mirroring his brother's pieces.

Ignoring his brother's indifferent behavior, Jericho helped him reassemble the last of it. He handed him the black king, "You know you could have easily won that one, Cronan."

Cronan tilted his head upwards, placing his balance on his elbow, "I know." He removed his hair from his eyes, revealing a pair of mismatched pupils; one like his brother's, one not so much, "I could've won all these games if I really committed to it."

"Look at you not hesitating to show that shiner of yours all of a sudden.", Jericho teased, reaching out to pat his brother on the shoulder, "It looks nice; you should keep it out more as there is thing wrong with it, you know."

Admittedly blushing, Jericho's brother soon regained his composure, "I'm painfully aware." He grabbed his black king, twirling it around his fingers as he did that, averting eye contact from his brother, "I keep forgetting; it's a force of habit since the orphanage and the dark times, sorry Jerry."

"Don't sweat it, Crow.", Jericho said, scratching his cheek lightly as continued, "As I was saying, it's not fun when I'm winning all the time, especially since you've just admitted you're not trying, man. You don't apply yourself like you used to anymore."

"I mean, I can imagine it must not have been fun to you either all these years when I started mopping you at this game. And that's considering you used to beat me before I got the hang of it.", Cronan replied, placing the piece in his hand onto the table as he stared at it, "So I'm confused as to why."

"Yeah, you're right. I rarely, hell barely, won any games off you since that time. That's why I don't find it fun when I'm winning against you more than once, especially if its given to me; I like losing to you because it makes me apply myself and then you make it harder to win next time as a result, so it helps us adapt on the fly", Jericho laughed, reminiscing the memories, "You are using rather linear tactics these days, deliberately leave your flanks wide open and do often suicidal moves."

"What are you getting at?", Cronan said, glaring at his brother's nonchalance with any expression on his face.

Intimidated by the look in his eye, Jericho said, putting it differently, "Wouldn't you rather have fun like you used to and apply yourself? You're making easy mistakes these days, you know."

Hearing those words offset his balance; they echoed through his heart, causing him to shiver in disbelief.

 _'Easy mistakes.'_

Cronan, finding himself hurting, closed his eyes as tears formed around his face. He sniffled, placing his head on the table with his arms in a triangular wrapping. Before long, Jericho began to hear faint weeping coming from his brother.

"Cronan, I-", Jericho said in defense, the weight of his what he said to him quickly eating away at him. He rushed over to the other side of the table, hugging his brother from the side. Hearing him repeat the words, "I'm sorry", made him start to have anxiety of his own.

Jericho couldn't help but ruminate over what to say next. Ever since the tragedy, he had been doing all he can to support him, never telling him off or providing him motivation to move past it. At this point he felt that waiting this long to tell him anything was erroneous of him; he avoided the confrontation for so long, but he couldn't see the same thing repeat again over some minor words.

He braced himself, taking a deep breath, sighing; he needed to avoid any hesitation on what to be said, "Cronan, I was hoping this wouldn't happen, but I have to talk to you about something."

The man just nodded in affirmation, still not lifting his head up.

Jericho placed his hand on his back, "I understand what you're going through, Cronan. I know it's not up to me to tell you how to handle your grief, but, brother please, it's been four years. Natasha has been worried sick about you; you never go home before midnight after work, you avoid seeing her, and you spend most of your time here. It hurts me to see you like this."

A weak croak escaped from him, "S-s-she was…she was j-just nine years old. She wasn't even ten yet." Cronan continued to sob, letting the fluid from his eyes expel onto the table.

"Crow, please.", Jericho said vainly, barely able to hold his own tears.

His brother rolled up into a ball, apathetic and uncaring of what was around him, or where he was. He buried his head into his legs, wrapping his arms around them as he rocked back and forward. In this position, his bawling had become more apparent to him.

Jericho struggled to articulate his thoughts, thinking frantically, "I loved her as well, Cronan; she was my niece." He immediately became guilt-ridden of making the situation worse instead of better; his heart ached, "Auranu couldn't stop crying over the loss of her baby cousin. Not a day goes by where she hasn't asked about you, because it hurts her knowing her favorite uncle is hurt so badly."

Hearing the name of his niece caused the man to lift his head up, but he didn't look at his brother. Instead he just rested his head on the back of the seat, looking toward the ceiling, "Nearly a decade, ten years, with my child and she's gone; all that remains are all the things she played with, the photos of her, the lingering memories of her smile."

Jericho couldn't help but painfully listen as he nodded.

A sniffle escaped from Cronan as he wiped the tear-streak off his chin, "They took her away, Jerry. Took her away from us, from me, in every conceivable way just to break me, and they've succeeded. After she was kidnapped, it took hours, weeks, fucking months of nonstop searching to find her; but when I finally did, it was only the beginning. The sight is still engraved into my eyes, into my heart….I can't live with myself seeing what had happened to her…my heart, my love, Lumi…"

He grabbed a napkin from the dispenser on the table, blew in it before crumpling it. He tossed it aside off the floor. He turned towards his brother, dried tears streaks across his face, the ones from his red iris (the left one) still freshly streaking down while his green one (the right one) were just about to.

"Cronan, I understand what it's like to lose someone, and what they meant to you.", Jericho wrapped his arm around his brother's shoulder and drew him closer, "Ailumi wouldn't want you see you like this. Wherever she may be right now, it's probably better than this world."

Triggered by that borderline absurdist remark, Cronan landed a punch on him, pushing him away. His unrestrained rage seethed through his eyes, "She was my daughter, dammit. A daughter I didn't lose from birth complications or otherwise; no, this was someone I devoted part of my life to, that I swore to protect."

Shrugging off the blow from his younger brother, Jericho just frowned at him.

Placing his hands on his forehead as he leaned against his elbows on the table, "She had my eyes, my imperfect eyes - a symbol of the fact that my past was behind me; that she wouldn't go through what I went through. Losing her…losing her made me alone again."

"But you're not-", his older brother tried reasoning only to be cut off again.

Cronan turned towards his brother with a murderous intent in his eyes, his red eye blazing with fury as grabbed his brother's collar, "Her death undid EVERYTHING I've worked my way to build up; losing her meant so much more than you will ever will hope to understand. Every struggle for a better future, every promise that I made was all broken in an instant: I couldn't uphold them. I failed to uphold them. I couldn't keep them, not for Natie nor the friend I lost years ago." His grip on his brother's collar tightened, "An imperfection like me doesn't deserve happiness."

"But you do, and you still can. You're not alone, Cronan. Stop being so hard on yourself.", Jericho said, trying to be the calm one in this situation, "I'm here for you now, my only remaining family I have left. I'll always be here from now on."

He let go of his brother's collar, turning the other way angrily as he placed his hands over his black pants. His fists shook with anger as spoke, "Where were you when I needed you twenty-three years ago? I was so lonely."

Jericho chose not to answer, instead just pitifully looked into his brother's pain-ridden state.

"You just had to get yourself adopted, didn't you?", Cronan continued, callously ridiculing his older brother, "You abandoned me. You gave up on me."

While Jericho accepted the cruel reality of his brother's words, he calmly retorted back with the intention of reasoning with him, "Cronan, you know better than to think that is what actually happened. It was my compulsion; I had no choice. Everything happened so quickly, and nobody would listen to my pleas. I wanted to take you with me."

"Why? Why can't I ever trust what you say?", he said with cracks in his voice, "You treated me like dead weight back then and I just can't…"

"Cronan, I was consumed by hatred, but I've changed now.", Jericho spoke with a softer, more even voice. He realized how fallen his brother's rationale was and realized being cold to him now wasn't helping him. He turned his brother around to face him, "I want to ask you this: as much as how things could've been, what good does it do talking about it? Is it making you feel any better?"

The man with dual-colored irises felt the fog in his head leaving as he faced towards the table again. He took the glass of water placed next to him, regulating his breathing as he pulled himself together. While his emotional state stabilized, Cronan couldn't accept moving on, but he knew his brother wasn't wrong either.

Knowing the conversation wasn't going to get anywhere, he wiped the tears off his face before telling him, "Just go, Jerry. I implore you, just leave me be.", not even contemplating an apology.

Jericho sighed, feeling unsatisfied with the outcome of the conversation, "Cronan, you know I cannot-."

Suddenly the sound of his cellphone ringing startled him. Jericho pulled it out, reading the name of the contact before answering it, "Hello."

Cronan couldn't make out what the voice was saying, but he did hear the voice of a teenaged girl on the other end of the line. He simply stared in annoyance, knowing full well who it was.

"Yes, dear?", Jericho replied, donning a smile as he conversed with them, "Certainly, I'll be on my way."

He simply made out from experience what they were requesting based on the direction of the conversation.

"Yes, he's still here, and yes.", Jericho promptly answered, looking over his shoulder in the direction his brother sat, "I'll see you soon, dear. Be at the gate, alright?"

It was all but confirmed to him who it was. He blinked in eyes to wear off his sleepiness.

"I have to pick up Eirene from school.", his brother said, attempting to diffuse the awkward tension from their conversation. "You don't mind if I bring her down here later, right?"

Cronan returned a dismissive look in his eyes, he flicked a white chess piece at his brother, "Do whatever is in your best interest.", he said, sitting down as he placed his head on the table.

Unflinching, Jericho caught it, showing a look of pity towards his brother. He examined the piece of plastic whiter than the shirt he currently wore before placing it into his shirt pocket.

With that he left the diner, quickly making it to his car. Emptying the contents of his jeans onto the passenger seat, he sat down. He removed his wallet from his coat, closing the door behind him upon doing so.

He rummaged through the contents of his wallet, fiddling through it before he finally pulled out a photo. At the back of it was a date written in sharpie.

 _'July 20th, 2012'_

 _"Her birthday."_ _,_ he thought to himself, _"Just a day before his."_

He flipped it around, looking at the photo itself. Though it was somewhat aged, it was still in good condition. Jericho smiled at the photo in retaliation to the smiles in it; the sincerity of the happiness permeated through the photo itself, causing him heartache. It contained a family of three; they consisted of his brother, his wife and a blonde-haired girl who sat in the middle of them with a sweet, serene smile of her own that just shook his entire core.

Jericho caressed the girl's face, silently weeping to himself as he continued, _"She embodied the best of both of them. Her countenance but his eyes. Her strength but his kindness. Natie, I was never really good at cheering him up, even after all these years despite my best efforts. You've been a better big bro to him than I ever was but he's so broken now that he avoids you out of shame. My dear kid brother, I love you; I just wish I had the strength, no the means, to help you."_

He quickly pulled himself together, not wanting to make his own daughter wait. He gently placed the photo onto the passenger seat before heading out. He stared back at the diner through his rearview mirror as he headed onto the highway.

Cronan simply stared back as he watched his brother drive away. He put the game board away into his briefcase, staring into the distance as his lack of sleep finally forced him to close his eyes.

* * *

Tension filled the air as the staff stormed across the hospital floor. The people across the floor made way for the emergency at hand. The attending physician hollered at the nurses and interns as they led the gurney toward the left hospital wing.

 _"Take him to the emergency room stat!"_

In the gurney rested a young boy with mismatching eyes devoid of life; he eyed the roof absently, oblivious, or at the very least unable to move if he was consciously aware. He could see the fog as a result of his breathing off his mask that covered both it and his nose; the mask was connected to an oxygen supply tank at the bottom of the gurney. The world was hazy, little more than a blur to him; he couldn't tell where he was, who he was, nor the practitioners who escorted him.

One of the interns dared asked as they made it to the emergency room.

" _What's the situation?"_

 _"He collapsed from the fumes of the fire earlier. Get an AED in the event the patient enters clinical death."_

'Clinical death'

Those cruel words rung his ears, as they were the only ones that reached them, _"Am I about to die?"_

The boy closed his eyes, surrendering himself to that inevitability. He knew not how long it took, but sometime after entering the room, the heart rate monitor situated next to him emitted a singular beep.

The attending physician yelled in desperation.

 _"Hurry up!"_

The staff tore open the boy's shirt, placing the AED's adhesive pads on the appropriate places on his torso. One of the interns turned it on before the signal was given to begin administering shocks.

 _"Clear!"_

The word reached the boy's ears; however, the current state of his body left him unable to do anything in consequence. The current caused his small body to jump, jolting upwards as he felt himself slipping away.

 _"It's didn't work."_

 _"Idiot, keep going."_

 _"Clear!"_

Another shock was administered, causing the body to jolt upwards again. The reading on the monitor didn't change.

 _"Clear!"_

His body jumped again. The result was still the same as was the reading on the monitor.

 _"Clear!"_

The result remained unchanged.

 _"It's no use."_

After few minutes or so of failed attempts, the staff stood side-by-side solemnly, disappointed in their inability to save a life from the incident. Before long the boy would enter biological death, where reviving him would soon become impossible.

One of the interns walked over to the heart rate monitor with the intention of unplugging it. However, they were quickly taken aback when the reading on the monitor emitted a patterned beeping.

The action was followed from coughing coming from the boy before his breathing stabilized. His eyes opened, staring curiously at the ceiling. The staff were relieved; exhilarated over the fact they wouldn't have such overwhelming guilt on their conscious.

 _"He made it."_

 _"That was such a close call."_

 _"Thank God for pulling a miracle out of His ass. That fire was gruesome."_

As the world grew less transparent to the boy, his bodily functions returned to normal. He deeply inhaled and exhaled through his mask. He closed his eyes to rest, feeling unable to move after being pulled back from the beyond.

Sometime later, when the boy opened his eyes, he found himself in a hospital room.

Blinking his eyes a few times, the boy slowly drew himself back from unconsciousness as his mismatched eyes took to his new surroundings. With confusion, he looked around, trying to make sense of the situation.

He sat in his bed, alone, sitting in a dimly lit red room. He examined himself, looking towards the various tubes and apparatuses that were attached to the bed. As he breathed, he noticed a breathing tube inside his nose; the tube extended all the way to behind his bed where the oxygen supplier was.

 _"Where am I?"_ , he thought, noticing the lack of apparent staff present in his room, _"Is it past visiting hours?"_

The boy looked towards the left of his bed, noticing the button that was used to call the nurse in the event a person needed something. He presses it, hoping to garner a response from it, thinking somebody would come to his aid.

After two or three more tries, he gave up, deeming it hopeless to attempt it any further. He looked on the other side of the button, spotting some broken loose wiring that barely touched the floor.

 _"Something is not right."_ , he concluded, pulling the wires up, confirming the fact that it was indeed broken. Not only that but there seemed to be no discernible outlet for the wire to even enter the walls anyway.

He shifted his attention towards the window, admiring how the moon emitted a bright curious red through the window. Its rays bathed the room as well as the apparent night sky.

 _"A lunar eclipse?"_ , the boy thought to himself, _"Can't be real. A real lunar eclipse requires protective wear to look at."_

He looked toward the center of the room, spotting a table where his clothes were.

 _"But they tore my shirt."_ , he thought, looking towards the articles of clothing. Seeing an opportunity, he quickly assessed his health, _"My breathing appears normal, I'm no longer dizzy and my temperature seems normal as well."_

Concluding that he was fine now, he carefully removed the pipes injected into his right arm. He was a little dubious on doing the same with his breathing tube, bracing himself before he did remove the apparatus from his face soon afterwards.

After removing all the apparatus, he hopped off the bed, walking towards the table where his clothes were neatly folded. The cold sensation from the floor which his feet touched coupled with his current wariness made his legs shiver underneath his hospital garb.

Noticing a bathroom nearby, he proceeded to get changed. He locked the door behind him as he examined himself in the mirror.

 _"What kind of hospital did I go to?"_ , he thought, placing his clothes on the closed toilet, _"I look like I belong in a psych ward."_

He removed his garb, quickly buttoning his white shirt soon afterwards, _"I have to get to the bottom of this. There is no way I can still be in the hospital after what I saw."_

Subsequently he put on his grey shorts and his black socks soon afterwards, _"I have to find them, I have to get out of here."_

He then tied the laces of his brown shoes, _"It was a mistake doing what I did but I can't just rot away here, not after I've been given a second chance."_

Putting on his black cardigan last, he turned towards the mirror, styling his messy brown hair. He washed his face with cold water, reflexively closing his red eye as if to keep it hidden.

 _"Nobody is here, so I doubt I need to hide this."_ , he thought, _"They told me I shouldn't have to but…"_

When he finally left the restroom, he took one last look the large, red full moon as it filled the room with its red light. He was quick to exit the room, quickly taken aback by the environment.

As he entered the rather ghostly hallway with dreary white walls, he bit his lip in nervousness. He continued to walk down the hallway, his shoes creasing against the grimy tile floor. Eventually, he came across a few cameras.

Feeling that there may have been a chance to be found, he called out to the camera desperately, "Somebody help. Someone, anyone, please help me! If there is anyone, please answer me!"

But there was no response. His words simply echoed across the hallway with the lack of response cracking doubt in his hope. Rubbing his upper arms to cultivate warmth, he continued to walk through the hallway, hesitant to face what potential danger lurked here in this facility.

It didn't take him long to come across a fork; it was revealed that to a large steel door with barbed wire has on the other hallway. Seeing as he had no other option but to go down the first hallway, he came back on course.

The other route led to little more than a dead end, but not before a door could be spotted just next to it. With the intention of going inside, he placed his hand on the metal knob, the coldness contrasted his warm hand. Before he could turn the knob, something else caught his attention.

Directly adjacent to the door, something was etched into the wall. Though it could be read in discernible English, it used rather antiquated terminology. Furthermore, the writing itself was rather scratchy; it was as if it was carved using something sharp.

He read what was on the wall.

 _Who art thou?  
To know, thou must find out for thyself.  
Is it thine true self? Or thine desired self?  
A derivative? A basis?  
A sacrifice? An angel?  
The dark? The light?  
Know thyself, and the gate shalt open._

 _"What a crock."_ , the boy thought, his eye throbbing upon reading that in such poor lighting.

He pondered about those words, notwithstanding the fact that they had no meaning to him. Such thoughts were quickly leeched away as he entered the new room. He took a quick glance around the room; it was similar to the one he was resting in, only this one was properly lit with no fancy, coruscating light. It was just as lifeless as that room though.

The only contents the room contained was a lone desktop computer sitting atop a desk just as boring and white as the room. Next to it sat another machine, some sort of printer. Walking closer to it, there was an object in front of the monitor that piqued his interest. Upon reaching the desk, his eyes opened in horror as to what it was.

A lone chess piece sat on the table. It was a standard white king chess piece that was slightly damaged, eroded as if had been tempered by heat, causing it to some of its paint melt off. It was still in playable condition despite that.

The boy picked up the chess piece as he began to shake uncontrollably. He brought the item closer to his chest as if he were hugging it. He sniffled, _"Why me? Am I that unwanted?"_

A clicking sound came from the desktop, causing him to return to the situation at hand. He looked up as he heard the sound of a switch flickering up as the sound traversed through the air – an action that was quickly by the sound of fuzzy static that could be heard from the monitor.

The boy grew tense as he watched the monitor boot up, catching the sight of the light flickering repeatedly from it. Before long, some kind of program booted up on its screen without being prompted, opening up automatically. The computer beeped at him as if it was expecting him.

Within a few minutes, an info screen popped up. The directions on the screen let themselves be known:

 _ENTER DATA  
PLEASE ENTER THE FOLLOWING:  
What is your name?_

The boy dug into his skin with his nails; he wanted nothing to do with this place. His preservation for his own life made him hesitate but his common sense knew the correct thing to do was comply. To elicit warmth, he placed his hands in his cardigan pocket, feeling his hands rub against the contents of them. He tried to be strong.

"Cronan", he answered promptly.

As if responding to what the boy said, the monitor blinked a few times. Then after a while, the computer restarted, with the directions appearing on the screen again just a few minutes later.

 _What is your name?_

"I said 'Cronan'.", Cronan repeated, feeling overwhelmed by the machine again.

The computer did the same thing as earlier. It began to boot up again.

"Is this thing broken or something?", Cronan asked himself, crossing his arms as he walked back a little.

Booting up, it returned to the same screen; this time the question changed slightly.

 _What is your full name?_

Cronan couldn't believe what he had just read, _"I'm an orphan. I have no surname. Unless, no please don't ask me that. I buried that surname long time ago."_ He placed his hand on his forehead, jerking violently from the memories associated with it, _"Please, I beg you."_

The futility of being hesitant now was doing him no good. He didn't want to say it, not wishing to associate himself with it. Embracing that name meant embracing something he'd rather throw away and forget.

But the machine simply coldly sat there. It was not a machine of loving grace watching him, it felt like his own personal version of perdition; an infernal abyss specifically designed for him. This second chance at life suddenly felt like a trip to Hell. He gulped, taking a deep breath before vociferating the name, "Ph-phaedrus."

The sound of the name caused his shaking to stop, as he simply stared down in sadness, "Cronan Phaedrus."

The next question appeared on the screen.

 _How old are you?_

"Eleven", Cronan said without hesitation.

Next question.

 _Why are you here?_

He gave a straightforward answer, clenching his fists as he did so, "I was in the hospital."

The machine asked another question.

 _Why?_

"Huh?", Cronan inquired, looking at the machine.

The message repeated a few times.

 _Why?  
Why?  
Why?_

"Why what?", Cronan yelled. His nervousness and tension having spiked to the point where he couldn't contain his emotions. This caused the machine to clarify itself.

 _Why were you in the hospital?_

Those words caused the memory of an explosion to replay in his head. He responded accordingly in light of what transpired, "Because I was in a fire. It destroyed the orphanage I was living in. I escaped, but collapsed from the fumes. Somehow, I ended up in the emergency room afterwards. But after that, I remember nothing."

The machine asked one last question.

 _What will you do now?_

He jerked violently as his tension ate away at him, tears escaping his young eyes, "I just want to leave, to go home. I'm too afraid of this place…of being alone…it makes me think way too much. I just want to see her again…see THEM again."

Satisfied with his answer, the computer displayed the following prompt.

 _ENTRY COMPLETE  
DISTRIBUTING PLAY START KEY CARD_

A series of beeps followed, and the card machine started to whir. He turned to it, spotting a card key exiting the tiny slot it had. Soon afterwards, the computer shut itself down.

 _"This is for that gate from earlier."_ , he noted, as he read the card, _"Play start?"_

He exited the room, slowly making his way to the gate situated in the other hallway. He inserted the key card in there, causing the gate to open. He then walked past it, quickly noticing an elevator at the end of the hallway.

Cronan rushed towards it, soon finding himself standing in front of the control panel, _"It only has an up button. This must mean I'm on the bottom floor."_

A large influx of static played overhead, causing the boy to flinch briefly. On the intercom, cracking through all the static, a voice could be heard.

 _"The boy on the bottom floor has been selected as a sacrifice. Please begin preparations on each floor."_

"Sacrifice?", he repeated, already feeling disgusted by whatever that can entail.

 _"Beyond here lies the play area. The gates will now open."_

The elevator opened as Cronan walked into it.


	2. An Heiress' Regret

_**Chapter 2: An Heiress' Regret**_

The sound of a man's voice enveloped the bedroom.

"We watched him die in Manhattan! Damn it, he won't leave us alone."

Disgruntled, the man stood up after saying that. His taut but inquisitive voice concern apparent without making his sounding wobbly in the begrudging acknowledgement of their greatest threats to the mission still being at large.

He signed, adjusting his glasses slightly with the movement of his nose. He sat back down, composing himself. He avoided eye contact with his partner who spoke to him on the other side of the monitor, opting instead to look downwards.

"Snake, could Vamp be immortal?"

His question was met with a curt response.

"Not a chance. This is the real world, not some fantasy game."

His voice gruff and throaty contrasted his otherwise nonchalant response. It was haggard enough to infer Snake seen better days. The text log repeated his words as he commented on such matters.

The first man placed his hand near his specs, as if he was either about to adjust them or place his index finger and thumb on his head to contemplate his next words before speaking back into the mic. His face stern and aggressive

"I swear, the next time he shows up…"

Snake intervened, "Not now, Otacon!"

Hal removed his hand off his face. "Right, I know."

The scene shifted to the bed where Eirene adjusted her own glasses as if she were imitating him. The interaction between these two was enough to crack a smile, saying with pretension in her voice, "Ha. These guys."

Before she could enjoy her game any further, her balance became lopsided by the impact of something heavy. It was the weight of another person, probably younger than her. The tackle knocked the PS3 controller out of her hand, but not before reflexively pausing the game mere seconds after the perpetrator collided with her.

Her vision unblurred as she witnessed a voluminous, long mane of blonde hair followed by the squeal of a girl, undoubtedly younger than her she thought. The head of blonde hair as well as the hem of the girl's sundress tickled Eirene's bare legs and midriff. She lifted her head, revealing a pair of mismatched eyes, one just like Eirene's own, the other being of a rose red hue, they shimmered with elation.

"AURANU!", the girl blurted out.

Eirene rolled her emerald eyes, a hint of exasperation washed over her hearing her cousin mutter her middle name so loud. She sighed.

"Oh, its only you. Salutations Ailumi.", she said casually.

The nine-year-old shook her eleven-year-old cousin jovially while she kept her pinned down to her bed against her will. She bounced on the skinny girl, the hem of her dress and her hair bouncing in conjunction with her.

Eirene just stared at her, annoyed but still indifferent towards her behavior.

Saliva was about to pour from the little girl's lips, "Awr u not habby to see mi?"

While the sight of the girls missing front teeth and freakishly long tongue revolted her, the older girl was quick to act, covering the girl's mouth before her fluid from the cavity could drench the white crop-topped t-shirt she wore. She took a deep breath, making sure she didn't lose her patience with her. Easier said than done in this case, she was at her cousin's mercy.

She chose her next words wisely, "That's not what I meant. You may get off me now, Lumi."

"Okay!", the girl, shrilling up from the chill she felt from her cousin's formal, biting tone. She carefully made sure not to get her pink sundress locked with Eirene's short shorts, not wanting to ruin it.

Auranu sat up, relaxing herself. She caressed her brown hair, straightening it with her hands in case it got messed up. Before turning to face her, she witnessed her cat having retreated to the corner of her room, possibly due to fear of the girl. She shined her eyes at her cousin, "What brings you here?"

Her questioned puzzled the younger girl.

Eirene repeated the question, trying her best to appear as courteous as possible, "Why are you here, Lumi?"

It didn't take her long to respond. She stumbled with her words, "So… Uncle Jewwy said he vated to tawk to me… He show me how to make coookies while we tawk to me…"

Her cousin's words were becoming a blur to her as she continued to bore Eirene with trivial information. The quiet girl tuned out of the conversation as a result, only to be immediately be dragged into it again.

"Hey. Hey. Hey!", Lumi shouted with a breathy voice, startling Eirene.

Eirene rubbed her ears, "Yes, Lumi?"

"Uncle toad me that yur gonna start schooe soon. Awe you?", Lumi questioned, "Why do you vant to go?"

Auranu breathed in and out once, "Because dad thought it'd be best for me to interact and socialize with others my age. Something about… not having friends… either."

Her baby cousins stuttered, "But… but? Am I yur fwiend, Auranu?"

The question caused the introverted girl to become pensive. As if she was being purposefully defiant, though given her lack of social skills, it was difficult for her cousin to determine. She had a quick elevation in her eyebrows, "I think so? I never really gave it much though. I guess you can call us friends."

Ailumi's voice broke, her eyes wincing, "Are… you sure?"

Eirene let out a phantom of a smile, "Yes, I appreciate your company, Lumi."

Hearing that got the lax girl all excited, "Yay!"

Eirene adjusted her glasses, mimicking Otacon from earlier, "Dad also told me I should learn to interact with more kids. He knows that you're the only cousin I… talk to."

"Yeah, I rember. You don tawk to your udder cousins? Uncle Jerry toad me.", Lumi confirmed, "But why?"

The brown-haired girl upturned her nose, "They're my cousins from my mom's side of the family. I never talk to them because they've never tried talking to me. I don't want to talk to them, either. And even if they did, they'd probably ask for mom's money and I hate pretension. Don't butter me up for the money I'm gonna inherit."

"Aunt Kirsten's money?", the blonde girl repeated.

Eirene flared her nostrils, "Yes. Mother got the most of grandfather's inheritance money. She told me someday it'll be mine. My other cousins just want it, and judging by my other aunts and uncles' demeanors, that seems likely. They've given mom a hard time, even though she's as kind as ever to them. Because of that, they don't talk to me as if I'm family, just a means to procure money. I'm never one to buy into words anyway."

Lumi's eyes sparkled, "Wow, I have no idea what you just said, buh yur gonna get money. And you can do whatever you vant with it?"

Eirene elevated her chin, "More or less. Well, that's if I behave. Not that I really look forward to having that money, but I don't see myself turning it down."

"What do yu mean?", Lumi said, glimmering up, "Don't go to school! Just use that money!"

"Yeah, dad won't allow that, as lax as he is about me.", Eirene said, playfully tapped the girl's head with the spine of a book she picked off her bed., "I can't just get it, Lumi. I have to earn it, kind of like a job."

"Ow!", Lumi said petulantly, rubbing her messy blonde locks in a rather exaggerated way, "That really hurt!"

"Really? I didn't think I hit you that hard.", Eirene had a blank expression as she examined the thickness of her book, her eyebrows raised. It was hard to tell if it was concern or confusion. She couldn't help but conclude she was fibbing.

After thinking a few minutes, she patted her baby cousin's head, her hand firmly planted on her hair, flattening a few of her locks.

Lumi covered her eyes as she felt Eirene's hand lightly pet her to alleviate whatever possible pain she felt, even if she was obviously faking it. Lumi smirked, a low snicker could be heard under her breath. This was her chance.

She jumped on her cousin again, tackling with a sneak attack. It was super effective. Eirene's legs comically kicked into the air as she was caught off guard.

"I knew it!", Eirene blurted out. They spent lots of time together, but Eirene never picked up on her cleverness at times. The younger girl easily overpowered her despite the three-year age gape, to her surprise. Not that she could do anything about it, Eirene was rather lanky, supporting little muscle mass, let alone any mass in general on her bones.

Lumi rubbed it in her face, clamoring in victory, "Yur stuck! Yur stuck!"

Eirene furrowed her brow, sarcastically remarking "Only because you're pudgy."

It didn't take much to turn the little girl's cheeriness into petulant complaining. She shook her, whining sheepishly, "I'm no puh-gee!" As her vision bounced back and forward from Lumi's face, Eirene's indifferent expression remained unchanged.

She rolled her eyes, _"To think she is Uncle Cronan's daughter. Well, its not that surprising, really."_ She gathered herself, assessing her thoughts, returning an expression of minor amusement.

Lumi ceased shaking the bed, having stopped as quickly as she started. She changed the subject, "I juz rember something. Uncle Jewwy toad me to help you go outside moe. He told meyur alwaz inside, and he sez you'll fein in PHEE-EE if I don hewp you!"

 _"Really, dad?"_ , sighed Eirene, "I appreciate the offer, Sentia." She finally managed to weasel her way out of her cousin's monstrous grasp. Lumi regained her balance before she could fall on the floor, staring at Auranu in the distance.

The latter retreated to the headboard of her bed, book in hand as she relaxed herself, "But I am responsible enough to work out my own outdoor schedule. Shouldn't be too hard, either."

Lumi groaned at her refusal.

Eirene simply put her blanket on, "Besides, you're too pudgy to give me suggestions. No offense, cousin."

Her pink eye blazed, having enough of her cousin's patronizing attitude. She shot back a look in anger, emitting a cheesy smile, "Whatevs…yur just chicken."

Eirene's gazed with intent at her, her eyes fixated at her cousin while her glasses lowered, "I'm not scared."

"Nah-ah, yur a chicken!", Lumi scorned, continued to mock her. She even did the chicken dance, "Bawk-bawk, yur so chicken, you afraid to hatch!"

She didn't know why, but the words were getting to her, "I'm not scared."

"Are too,", Lumi jeered, "Yur so chicken, yu fall down afta wak-kig so long and uncle carries yu like a pwincess!"

For the first time, Eirene felt her face turning hot. She got her; the girl who she never thought was that bright, she got her. She trembled a bit, "That was a l-long time a-gg-gg-o." before regaining her composure, "If this is trick to make me play outside with you, it won't work."

Lumi was distraught, her dirt against her cousin having amounted to nothing. She attempted to switch tactics, "Pwease come outside and pway with me?"

Eirene flipped the page, "Sorry, Lumi. I know how much it means to you. But I won't do anything that I find uncomfortable."

"Awh…", Lumi said in defeat.

"Besides, I have some read-"

 _ **SWIPE!**_

Eirene was blindsided. Within seconds the text on her page became indiscernible, blurring as she felt the book leave her hand. She could've sworn that her lights got punched out. Her head tapped the bed headboard.

She covered her eyes with her hands, reflexively so, as if to mend whatever pain she felt after the impact. To her surprise, however, when she opened them, there was no injury. She opened her eyes, revealing that her blanket had found its way to the floor as if it were dragged there. She also found her book carelessly opened pages face first on the floor.

The latter was enough to disturb her to the point where she picked it up and gently placed it back onto her bed. It was at this moment, upon reading the title, she realizes something was amiss: her glasses were gone.

"Wooking fo these.", said Lumi singsongly, who was behind her, in the entryway of her room door.

Turning around with the gaze reminiscent of a ruler disgusted with treason, she clenched her jaw, "Give those back. I need those."

"Come and get 'em, then!", Lumi said haughtily.

Eirene didn't break eye contact with the girl that shared her Uncle's eyes, "Lumi, please stop. Those are expensive."

"Yu can juz buy new ones!", Lumi shrugged off easily. She jetted off, making her way to the hallway.

Eirene raised her voice, crying "Ailumi!" sprinting after her, determined to catch her.

She spotted the little girl, noticing she was headed towards the stairs. She couldn't think clearly, as her heart's pace began to bump up in speed. She felt short of breath as soon as she reached the stairway herself.

"Confounded, Lumi", Eirene said under her breath as she continued her chase, slowly but surely of her cousin. She didn't want her mishandling her means to see, _"She doesn't understand how I don't have flawless eyesight like herself, and that I prefer to keep indoors. Why's she gotta be so vicious sometimes? Guess I should blame Auntie for such aggression."_

She kept thinking as she felt her naked feet touch the stone steps, before long she reached the bottom, _"She better not go outside. I'm even not dressed appropriately for the day."_ She placed her hand on her stomach, feeling sweat drench her bare midriff already.

She normally has little care of wearing her casual shorts and crop-top most days because she's usually in her room when wearing them. She looked both sides of the hallway, glad there wasn't anyone that could see her. She had to act quickly to keep it that way.

Entering the bottom hallway, she noticed the glass door that lead to the garden, noticing how disorderly the table next to it was. The sets of glasses and other ornaments on that side table were carelessly tumbled over.

She grabbed a pair of sandals in front of the door, "I'll fix that later, much catch her first." She made sure that the decorations were not close enough to the edge, so at the very least she didn't accidentally knock them over and make even more of a mess than there already was.

She knew where her younger cousin would be, even without the mess she left behind. Eirene sighed in relief, _"Thankfully, she went to our garden courtyard and not our meadow. She shouldn't take too long to find, well assuming I can catch her."_

Eirene closed the door behind her, placing a couple of few chairs stacked on top of each other to barricade it, _"Even if I don't catch her, I can at least prevent her from leaving easily."_

A breeze amidst the sun rays enveloped her legs, causing her to rub them. She knew the friction she'd create would alleviate the cold briefly.

"YO HOI!"

Those words roared through the air current, making their way past her long brown hair and echoed into her ears, prompting her to turn around. Eirene just stood across from her, solemnly glancing at her.

Lumi's rose and green eyes twinkled with excitement as she shifted her smile, revealing her missing two front teeth, something that accentuated her mischief. She had her hands behind her back as she started to swiftly walk backwards a good distance before headed to the grass.

Eirene went into a full sprint after her the blonde girl, feeling the soft grass against her feet. The chase made her forget cold she felt just moments earlier.

She chased her for a while, making a lap around once before the older girl tired out again, _"Her stamina is something else."_ Auranu caught her breath, she knew she was physically outmatched. She turned around to run the other way, switching her own tactics as she knew she would be moments from collapsing. She couldn't last much longer.

Planning to intercept Sentia as she made her way back, she planned on a sneak attack. Hiding behind a bush until the time was right. Before long, her target was visible, and she jumped in front of it, planning to catch her.

Unfortunately for her, Eirene didn't factor in Lumi averting her eyes the other way as she ran. She was so taken by the thrill of the chase that she hadn't bothered turning around for a while. It took her a few moments before Eirene intercepted her from the front to realize she wasn't there.

Because of this, the running girl collided face first into her cousin who just stood still, only turning to face her at the last possible second.

 _ **CRASH!**_

Lumi felt a rough blow on her nose, getting knocked backwards as she used her hands to cover it from the pain. To her opposite, Eirene, also feeling the change in momentum from the crash did the same. The latter was disappointed her plan didn't work as she intended it to. She managed to outsmart the girl but was taken aback at Lumi's careless nature.

"Ow!", Lumi whined, eyes wide open from the pain. A tear escaped her pupils, "That _really_ hurt!"

The older girl, instantly feeling guilty at her misstep, hugged the girl to comfort and console her. She grabbed the hem of her cousin's sundress, blowing into it before placing it on her cousin's face, having remembered her father doing that to her when she herself was little, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to."

It was second nature to her – the act of physical comfort, but she felt an odd warmth overwhelm her as she became hot inside and out. Or was it coldness, she knew not which right now.

Having wiped her tears, the blonde-haired girl was able to calm down, "Thank you, Auranu."

Eirene fell backwards, being rather physically defeated herself as she rested her weight on her skinny arms, "Appreciated. Now, can I have my glasses back please?"

Lumi giggled, smiling at her cute Eirene's clueless expression was, "I don't have them."

"How is that possible? You ran outside wit-", Eirene stated, stopping herself short upon remembering, "They're inside aren't they."

"Yep, on that table when you wawked out.", Lumi confirmed.

Eirene lowered her eyes, "You're smarter than I gave your credit for." She fell backwards, completely exhausted as she lay on the grass. She was at her limit.

Lumi laughed again, standing up as she brushed the loose grass off her clothing, "Wet's go back inside. I wan wata-."

She walked away a few feet before she heard her voice call out to her, "Lumi!...", causing her to turn around, hair blazing in the sun.

Eirene croaked, bearing a gloomy and upset face. She covered her face from the embarrassment, "Can you…help…me up?"

Her cousin let out a kind hand, followed by a look that basically said _"I told you so!"_ The two girls walked back inside, the younger one carrying the weight of the older one over her shoulder as they did so.

"So wat does puh-gee mean anyway?"

"It matters not. Never change, Lumi."

* * *

Heavy pants could be heard from Eirene (age 16) as her heart continued a steady rhythm. Her vision cleared as she eyed directly in front of her. Across her was the acres of blue above, the clouds lay white and misty above as if the brilliance of a new page upon a sky canvas of such consistent blue.

Drained from running, she gently placed her hands on her abdomen. Her breathing was rather shaky, letting out quick, shallow bursts that made their way into the chill bearing around her. She felt it wrapping around her like a blanket; it made its way to her bare legs, through her black gym shorts and white t-shirt.

Contrasting this she felt the warm grass prickle against her skinny calves as well as her back which was exposed from lifting her white t-shirt, indifferent from the weariness to even care about whatever insects might get her. She felt her surroundings blur from the scorching sun as he found herself having fainted.

"Pheadrus?"

Said a voice that reached out to her. She tried vociferating a response, only for an inaudible, raspy whisper to escape from her tongue, a shadow of an answer mouthing from her parched lips.

"Phaedrus?!"

The person said again, this time loud and concerned. The pupils in her emerald green irises dilated, waking her up from her catatonic state. She widened her eyes, glancing her surroundings to assess where she was.

She rubbed her arms in response to the blast of that drift her brown hair parallel towards it. It all came back to her, where she was. She was at her school's track field. Calming herself, she relaxed her eyelids, shuttering her overall neutral expression, which made her emerald eyes appear darker.

"You alright, Pheadrus?" the teacher inquired, "You passed out during your makeup lap exercise."

A deep, relaxed sigh blew out from her hearing this, "I did. I'm not surprised."

"Oh really, is that so?", they said, taking the pen resting on their ear as they began recording scribbling on the clipboard.

The girl rested on her arms, "Yeah, I've never been good at exercising. I'm basically the worst runner in our class, Mrs. Hazel."

"I'm sorry to hear that.", said Hazel in response. They finished writing as they turned their attention toward their student, "Would you like some help getting up? You had a hard fall after you cross the finish line."

Eirene dusted her clothes and fixed her shirt, making sure it covered her stomach properly, "No, I can manage. But thanks for offering."

"Okay, only if you're sure.", Hazel backed off, waiting for her.

"I am.", Eirene said, lowering her brows into a frown, "Seriously, though. Thank you, you're too kind."

Within a few moments, after stumbling a few times, she managed to finally get up. She ran her hand through her hair, only for her hand to be soaked with her own sweat.

Mrs. Hazel spoke up, scratching her head, "With this, your grade jumped from a D to a B minus."

"Oh", Eirene shrugged off, not changing her expression in the slightest.

"However,…", she said, with an amused smile, "I'll bump it to a B plus because of the effort you displayed today. For someone who is the worst runner, this is a step in the right direction. All else goes right, you'll make your way up to an A- by the end of the quarter. Just don't stop trying."

Eirene bowed her head, "Thank you, ma'am." Her frown and stare static.

The person made their way back to the school building, with the girl accompanying her. As they passed the tennis courts, the teacher turned to face her pupil, "Hey, it might help to make little strides with light jogging every day, if you don't wish to exercise much."

Eirene nodded.

Her tone of voice softened, "Considering you've practically been homeschooled most of your life. It will help you in the long run, Eirene, outside school." The woman opened the one of the magnetic doors at the back of the school building.

"Advice noted.", Eirene said, seemingly staring past her gym teacher as she walked in. She made her way to the girls' locker room, which was the second door on the right of the hallway they entered.

The girl's nonchalance concerned the middle-aged black-haired woman. She narrowly caught up to her, careful not to placing her hand on the teenager's shoulder in case the worse happened, "Eirene…"

Auranu turned to face her, eyebrows raised with a rather dreary voice, "Yes."

"If you would like a routine recommended to a beginner like yourself so you can at least get to state average to perform in class consistently well so you can graduate on time, I can forward you an email.", Mrs. Hazel said, masking her concern behind her formality "I would hate for someone as brilliant as yourself to fall behind from this. Other teachers might not have the same leniency in their policy as me. And I can only do so much. As a teacher, I can't just let this be a recurring thing. I want to help you."

Mrs. Hazel was unsure of what the girl would think of her persistence. Afterall, teachers usually give bare minimum advice for students, but she couldn't help it. It hurt her to see a student struggling.

Eirene just stared at her as she was about to open the locker room door. After an awkward silence, unexpected the girl's face glowed up with a more sympathetic gaze. She turned her frown upside down briefly, "If you can send it by email, I'd appreciate it. In fact, yes, that would be very helpful. Thanks."

They entered the locker room, Mrs. Hazel entered her office, opening her school-approved laptop and pulled up her email.

"That school will close for the day soon. I'll give you ten minutes to change.", she woman said, typing Eirene's email which she handed her at the beginning of term. Upon sending it, she closed it and put the device away.

It didn't take long for the girl to reply in her soft-spoken voice, "Would it be possible to give me twenty? I'm still fatigued from the run, and I'd really appreciate it."

The aged woman's expression tightened, sighing, "Fine. Twenty. You're lucky I have some other errands to do. I'll be right back and I'll trust you enough to leave you to it. I'll be just across the locker room. If anything happens, let me know. Deal?"

Eirene let out a relieved smile, "Thank you."

She dialed in the combination of her gym locker as the woman left, opening it successfully. Rummaging through its contents consisting of her boots and her neatly folded clothes, she pulled out her cell.

After keying in her password, she opened her extensive phone contact list. Using her thumbs, she entered 'dad' into the search bar. The result "Jericho Phaedrus" was returned under that nickname. She called the number.

As the phone rang, she sat down relaxing herself, hoping her father wouldn't take too long to answer. Thankfully that wasn't the case, for she heard an orotund voice on the other side.

"Hello"

Hearing this startled the girl a bit, though Eirene quickly regained her composure. "Hi, uh dad?", she said softly, trying not to sound nervous.

His voice replied with pleasantry and affection, "Yes, dear?" H

"Would you be so kind to pick me up from school in half an hour?", her toneless and confident manner of speech returning, "I'm almost done, I just got one more matter to attend to. I should be done shortly afterwards, assuming all else goes well. But I should be done in half an hour, like I said, give or take."

He was humored somewhat by her unnecessary long speech, though he tried hard not to laugh, "Certainly, I'll be on my way."

"Another thing….", she said putting the phone on speaker now as the combination of the caller interface and his name stared back at her, "Is Uncle Cronan still there? Is it okay if you can let me see him? I have… been… missing him…"

Eirene could've sworn she could feel her father blushing at her remark, as she wasn't usually vocal with her needs. Her father was usually smart enough to figure it out. She had been fighting it for too long, but the weight of the tragic event really took its toll on her. She loved her uncle, and her concern for him was enough to break the monotonicity in the way she spoke.

Jericho was awestricken, knowing how put-together she usually is, simply replied in his modulated voice, "Yes, he's still here, and yes."

"Thank you, dad.", she said, arching her lips. Her face was bright as dawn on a dazzling summer's day, especially given her expression was akin to powdered snow – plain, icy and placid.

"I'll see you soon, dear. Be at the gate, alight?"

"I'll be sure to be there, Goodbye.", she curtly replied. With that she hung up the call. She looked down at her phone at his contact photo.

Her father held both her and another girl with blonde hair with mismatching eyes as toddlers. Each held in one arm. Her uncle could be seen, shooting him a nervous look as if scared for his daughter's safety.

A lone tear poured onto her phone screen, having escaped from her tear ducts. She wiped her eyes, making sure she didn't overdo it. She went into her photos, tapping the first entry. It was a short video, roughly 2-3 minutes long.

Just as the video played, a woman spoke tremulously as she held the camera.

"Eirene, Eirene watch this…"

The camera shifted to the perspective of a blonde girl with long hair walking up to a discarded water cooler.

"Cronan! Cronan! Over here. Check this out."

"Natie, she might get hurt.", he remarked.

A girl in a pink jacket and blue leggings stood in front of water cooler. She spoke with energy in her tongue.

"Mum. Mommy. Wook. A Wobot!"

Natasha laughed, "Yes, yes Lumi. It's a robot!" Cronan could be heard emitting a humorous groan behind the camera. The girl who shared her father's eyes, turned back to face it.

"Hi Wobot!", she said sweetly.

Not surprisingly, it just sat there.

"Hi Wobot!"

Natie couldn't control her giggling, "Cronan, I'm so weak."

Toddler Lumi waddled toward the disheveled apparatus. It appeared to be of aged gas cylinder with another component stacked on top of it. The device above was tough to make out, but what was of note is that this square device interestingly had patterns which resembled eyes.

The little girl waves at it, "Hi Wobot!" She subsequently hugged it, gushing with a happy squeal "Aaaaaaaahhhh"

Natasha couldn't hold it in any longer, "Cronan! I can't even. I can't take this! Why is she such an angel?"

The man didn't remark, likely shaking his head at his wife's playful attitude. He turned to face his daughter who was walking away from the device.

"I wuv you wobot. I wuv woo wobot."

With that, she ran to her mother's arms, sucking her thumb as she held her. The camera switched to Cronan's hand, "Smile at the camera, Lumi. Dear c'mon!" The elation in his words as he was talking to her struck Auranu.

Lumi petulantly defied him though, instead having buried her face into her mother's bosom. "She's cold Cro-Cro."

The man persisted, "C'mon, for daddy. C'mon!"

The girl whispered something into her mother's ear before they both turned to face the camera. Lumi heavily resembled her mother; from her golden blonde hair down to her facial structure – an almost uncanny resemblance. The girl didn't have her mother's amber-hazel eyes, instead her eyes were a pair of green and pinkish-red; everything else, was exactly like Natie. Her hair was messier compared to the loving woman as well.

The video ends as there, both mother and daughter readying themselves for the camera.

Eirene placed her thumb on the girl's face, _"Ailumi Sentia Phaedrus…wherever you are, please forgive me. It would never occur to me I'd miss you this much. God is so cruel sometimes. Why did this have to happen to us? To her? To me? It's not fair."_

The teenaged girl quickly changed her clothes after that, not wishing to dwell on the matter any further in such a location.

* * *

 **A/N: It's been almost two years since I updated this. I'd like to apologize for up and vanishing like that, leaving this piece unfinished as I had much to plan on writing this. Several troubles were happening in my life: illness, a toxic friendship, the death of a close relative and various matters; it was enough to make me fall into depression and lose my muse for writing.**

 **Luckily through all this darkness in my life, I've had my loving wife and close friends to thank for pulling me through my struggles. The other thing I'd like to thank is the new followers I get even after I hadn't written in a while because of issues in my personal life.**

 **Apparently, there is a game adaptation for Eddie's backstory in Angels of Death. I hope to play it and incorporate elements from it. If you'd like to discuss stuff about the story or have questions, feel free to pm me. I don't know when my next chapter will come but just know that now that things have turned around for me, I hope to do more consistent updates, though it will take some time as I don't have as much free time as I used to. Hope you enjoyed the chapter and leave your feedback in a comment.**


End file.
